Achieving Production Level Computed Tomography Inspection at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Abstract

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a powerful non-destructive method providing 3D information about the internal structure of materials typically on the scale of 10 to 100 μm. Personnel at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have made significant progress applying CT to the inspection of small electrical components in a manufacturing environment, inspecting thousands of parts per year. As that mission increases there is also a desire to assist with dimensional analysis to complement traditional coordinate and optical measuring machines. Efficient techniques to analyze CT data create an intuitive output for assessment of part quality (e.g. go/no-go). Here we describe the current state of CT inspection, as well as ongoing R&D efforts such as implementation of robotics for higher throughput.